I know these entries lately have been real stinkers. I’m just not doing much beyond working and exercise. I finished my urban fantasy partial last night. YAH! Today, I’m going to try to write the dreaded synopsis. Should be a trick. *ggg* Anyone out there know what my book is about? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Anyone? Sigh, me neither…yet. (wg)
I’ll probably start edits on the ST on Friday. It’s going to take me a while to get through them. With any luck, I’ll have critiques back and the manuscript ready to go in the mail by June 19th (possibly earlier).
I’m going to be attending RWA Nationals in Atlanta in July. It’s been strange because I’ve been trying to figure out what I need to do to get ready. Organizing clothes is a given, but I was thinking more along the lines of work. What work needs to be done beforehand? The two stories that I’ve been working on are the main things I needed finished, but I keep wondering if there is something else I can do. Should I try to put together another partial, so that I have two? I just don’t know.
Are any of you going to Nationals? If so, are you doing anything special to prepare?
Archive for May, 2006
I managed to work on my urban fantasy over the weekend. I’ve almost finished the partial. I hope to get it done today. My dh read the first two chapters and told me it was creepy. How cool is that?!! (wg)
Speaking of cool things, I found out today my story Mesmerized from Bad Boys Over Easy has been translated into Portuguese. Apparently, they broke the anthology apart and put them in individual books. Woo hoo!
For those of you with cable, I saw a preview for a couple of kickbutt looking shows. The first is on Spike TV. They’re doing Blade the series. I enjoyed the Blade movies and I hope the series is fun too. For those of you with BBC America, I caught a preview of a show that looks fantastic. It’s called Hex. It premiers on June 8th and I can’t wait. Perhaps the UK folks can fill us in on whether or not it’s any good.
Other than that, not much is happening. It’s laundry day. Exciting. Did anyone have anything cool and groovy happen to them over the weekend? I’m off to get some work done. 
Today is Memorial Day in the US. It’s a time to remember those who sacrificed everything to keep this country safe. I am grateful to the men and women who took that ultimate step. I just wish there weren’t so many new names to add to that already over-crowded list.
Woo Hoo! Yippee! Yahoo! (Picture Daffy Duck bouncing off every object in the room and you pretty much capture what I feel inside.:) The first draft of the paranormal suspense is done. I finished last night shortly before midnight after writing 7350 words. It’s sitting at 98K+. I’m seven pages short of 400. This book is a milestone for me in many ways. First, I’ve written a type of book that I never thought I’d write. Second, this is the longest book I’ve ever written. (My other ST is sitting at 350 pages.)
I’m sure all you ‘long’ writers out there are snickering right about now, but for a naturally short writer it’s a big deal. Again, I couldn’t have accomplished this without having the book charted out. It really made all the difference for me, even though several things changed. I’m going to leave it sit for a week and then begin edits. (Definitely not looking forward to this part, but it has to be done.) While I’m letting it stew, I plan to work on a partial I started a few months back. I’ve written a chapter and a half…not counting the ending. (You know I have to know how it ends in order to write it. *g*) And those are my big plans for the week other than working out.
Today, we’re off to see the Da Vinci Code. Tomorrow, it’s X-Men 3. I figure after the DVC I’ll need to look at Wolverine for a couple of hours. *ggg* Hope everyone is having a great weekend.
Forgive me, I’m feeling all ‘X-files’ today. Like many of you, I’ve played around with Google Earth. I’ve glided through the Grand Canyon and visited ‘home’, since I can’t get back as often as I’d like. That’s the cool and groovy aspect of that program/site.
Then there’s the part of me that remembers the movie ‘Clear and Present Danger’ with Harrison Ford. He’s waiting for a satellite image to pop up and we see a girl sunbathing in the middle of the desert. (This is right before the special forces team goes in and wipes everyone out.) That’s the creepy aspect of the whole Google Earth thing. Now I know that governments had technology like this for quite a while. This is in no way new. But there’s part of me that finds it a little on the frightening side. No, I’m not doing anything worth watching. I’d bore an observer to tears, believe me. It’s just the thought that someone could be watching that kind of freaks me out.
I suppose it’s the downside to technology. You have to take the bad with the good. Next they’ll come up with a way for machines to write books. Okay, that’s probably just wishful thinking on my part…says the person two chapters away from finishing.
I did it! I finished a month of fitness boot camp. I’m sure there are some of you out there thinking ‘one month, big deal’. Well for me, it was a big deal. I’ve never worked out at 5:30am in my life, not even when I was in school. I thought it was funny because today the instructor asked us about our jobs. When I said I was a writer, she freaked. Turns out she LOVES the kind of books that I write. Although, she was shocked to find out that I actually wrote ‘those’ types of books. She said she would’ve never guessed that from my morning personality. LOL! It’s funny, I would’ve never guessed that she read them. 
I haven’t decided yet what I’m going to do for exercise next. I may sign up for another month of boot camp, but I’m really not sure. My knees are SO NOT happy right now. Dh thinks I need to have a fitness goal. He says it’s easier to workout if you’re working toward something. I’m sure he’s right, but I can honestly say that I’ve never had a fitness goal in my life. I have always been a team sports person, volleyball to be specific. (Not watching, playing.) I didn’t enjoy track in school–at all. And that was after winning medals. Running around in circles just didn’t do a whole lot for me. I like martial arts because I enjoy hitting things. *ggg* So maybe I’ll have to look at something in that direction. It’s going to take some thought.
The book is still rolling along. I managed another 3K+ last night, which brings my weekly total to 11.5K so far. I hope to get at least another 2K today. I’m currently sitting at a little over 83K total. I’m in chapter twenty-one of what I hope to be a twenty-four chapter book. It looks like if I keep at this pace, the book will be done by the end of the weekend. It should be somewhere around 95K when I finish. Wish me luck.
Any big plans for Memorial Day weekend? I think other than work our butts off, we’re going to go see the Da Vinci Code and X-Men 3.
I’m currently sitting at three and a half pages shy of 80K with my book. I hope to surpass that and then some today. The last two books I’ve written have taught me so many things about my process that I thought I’d share it in a meme. 
And yes, before you ask, I’m brain fried and can’t think of anything else to blog about. *ggg* So without further ado…
1. I’ve learned that when writing a single title I can’t take breaks longer than a day or I lose the rhythm.
2. I’ve learned that if I take part of the day off it’s next to impossible to get back into the writing afterwards.
3. I’ve learned that I have to have the book charted out by chapter in order to write quickly. (Doesn’t mean it can’t change later, but something has to be down on paper beforehand.)
4. I’ve learned that I have to write something everyday in order to keep writing a habit…even during my down time. It doesn’t have to be very long, but I have to write.
5. I’ve learned that asking the characters to tell you their version of the story deepens your understanding of the characters and reveals hidden motivation.
6. I’ve learned that I can write more than romance, which is something I never believed until recently.
7. And finally, I’ve learned that I can’t blog worth a crap when I’m nearing the end of a manuscript.
The things I’ve learned writing the Blaze and this current book will save me time and heartache later. I think it’s important to figure out what works for you and incorporate it in every project. I’m still growing and learning about what works and what doesn’t, but it’s getting there. What have you learned about your writing process? Is there something you should be doing/or not doing when you write?
There’s been an interesting discussion on an author’s list about what it takes to be a full-time writer. Most authors will tell you, and rightly so, that you should never quit your day job until you have a healthy backlist. Sometimes even that doesn’t help and you have to stay with the day job. Let’s face it, that’s the most likely scenario.
I know every writer dreams of leaving the rat race to pursue their dream full-time, but what does it really take to do it? How many books must you publish? A lot of things factor into the answers to these two questions. One is your current lifestyle. When I left the airline, we took a HUGE financial hit. For two years, it wasn’t pretty in our household, but I have NO regrets. Things eventually settled down, but we’re still not back to the position we were in before I left. Luckily, my dh had health insurance benefits. (Another BIG thing to think about when you consider leaving the stability of a job.) Now that you’ve factored those two things together, you need to think about backlist.
I only have nine books published, seven from Ellora’s Cave and two from Kensington Brava. Although I made decent advances on the Bravas, I haven’t seen a dime yet of royalties. Not sure I ever will. Never have counted on it. On the other hand, Ellora’s Cave didn’t give me an advance, but they have paid me monthly since I first published with them in 2003. Am I rolling in the dough? Hell no! But I’ve made the equivalent of a part-time job for years. Could I have made more? Absolutely. It was all dependent on my productivity. I could look back and wish that I’d have busted my butt to write more books those first two years. It would’ve made a huge difference now. But I didn’t and there isn’t jack I can do about it.
Contrary to recent AAR list discussions, e-book authors can and do make good money. Some make extremely good money. It all boils down to the backlist. I’m going to give you an example. This will be the one and ONLY time I’ll ever discuss money on my blog. And no, I will not be listing specific numbers. My book, AQ1: The Arrival has made five figures to date. Did I make all that money upfront? No. Am I still earning on that title? Yes, and I am in NO way at the high end of the EC earners. My guess is I’m smack dab in the middle, maybe even lower. Hell, I may even be at the bottom. I have no idea. I haven’t consistently put out releases like a lot of other authors. This makes a big difference too. Never underestimate the power of keeping your name out in front of the reading public.
Now I’m fortunate because my dh makes enough money to support us both. My income is ‘extra’ and is used mainly to pay for writing related expenses…and my nasty book habit. *g* I could probably support myself with the writing, if I managed to get another fifteen books released. I’m not saying that to depress anyone. I am just giving you what ‘I’ would need to live above the poverty line. Am I going to hurry up and write fifteen more books? No.
I’ve discovered something about myself over the last seven months. As much as I want to be a ‘working’ (ie constantly selling) writer, I’ve realized I can’t force my imagination into the box needed to obtain this goal. Can I write commercially? Absolutely. Do I want to? Certainly not all the time. It’s going to take a little longer to sell my next few books. Perhaps years. I’ve accepted that. It’s the price I have to pay for scribbling so far outside of the lines. Will my patience be rewarded? I hope so, but if it’s not, I’ve still had a great time playing in these worlds. In the end, only you can decide what you can live with and what is going to make you happy.
I know my blog has been boring as hell lately. It really can’t be helped. I’m in a ‘finish the book’ zone right now and I just can’t think of anything clever to write here. Today, I’m meeting a friend for brunch. We try to get together about once a month. She’s the sweetest woman and is currently training for a marathon. This will be her third or fourth I believe. It’s truly impressive. Afterwards, I’ll swing by the store and pick up something for dinner, then head home and write, write, write. I managed to get in 17 pages yesterday. I will surpass 300 today. That will leave me with about 55 pages to write. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter. And as the old country song goes, o’ Lord I hope it ain’t a train. *ggg*
If you went to RT, what did you learn? Anything cool and groovy? Now’s the time to share.
If you’ve been over to visit Sylvia Day’s blog today, then you’ve probably already heard. Apparently, Simon and Schuster has purchased the subsidiary print rights to Ellora’s Cave books and they’ll be released as Pocket trades. Could’ve knocked me over with a feather.
In other news, I’m down to two more workouts, then I’m done with fitness boot camp. Of course, I have no idea what I’m going to do to replace it. Seriously. I’m not sure the treadmill will cut it after this class.
On the manuscript front, I think I have about 77 pages to go and then I’ll be done with the first draft of my near-future paranormal suspense. Yah!!! Keep your fingers crossed for me that I can hit a zone this week and plow through it.
On a personal front, my nephew graduates from high school today. Oh, sigh, I remember that day well. To make it even better, he received a 75% scholarship to college. Congrats! We’re so proud of you.
